Building society reassures MP town is still a priority

SOUTH Swindon MP Robert Buckland says he feels reassured that the town remains a priority for Nationwide, despite the company announcing it is to transfer jobs to India.

Mr Buckland met with the company, one of the town’s biggest employers, on Tuesday following an announcement that some clerical jobs will be transferred to India, resulting in a reduction in the number of temporary and contract workers in Swindon.

The building society, which has its HQ in Pipers Way, has said it is changing the way its back office operations are run in a bid to improve customer service.

Mr Buckland said: “The meeting with Nationwide went well – I asked about the nature of the job losses and they told me it would be spread across the various sites that Nationwide has and it wouldn’t just be in Swindon. I asked about the current 50 vacancies that are being advertised and was told that some of those people losing their jobs could apply for these new jobs.

“They also said that the nature of the agency work is quite seasonal, and they are about to start doing a big push on selling ISA’s because at certain times of the year they sell certain products, and it is coming up to ISA season so there will be opportunities there as well.

Related links

“I got a very strong assurance from Nationwide that they are very committed to Swindon, they see Swindon as the heart of their operation and they want to do all they can to support the Swindon base.

“I got the feeling they are looking at further changes in the near future but I think these will be potentially good for Swindon.

“It is always concerning to hear about job losses but the message I got from Nationwide was a very clear committment to our town which is good.

“I will continue to work with them to ensure future opportunities.”

A spokesman for Nationwide said a partner organisation had been found in India to create a new processing centre and the transition of this work has been started and is expected to be complete by the end of October.

He added: “At the moment, Nationwide is actively recruiting and has around 50 vacancies in Swindon alone and we are in the process of converting around 30 temporary workers into permanent employees. There are medium term plans to move a number of skilled jobs from other locations in the UK to Swindon.”

Comments (18)

Yes there are around 50 Vacancies on the Nationwide website, most of them for Senior managers and consultants. Most of these jobs will be filled by people from outside of Swindon who will commute to work down the M4 and never see anything of Swindon

Yes there are around 50 Vacancies on the Nationwide website, most of them for Senior managers and consultants. Most of these jobs will be filled by people from outside of Swindon who will commute to work down the M4 and never see anything of SwindonFox in Exile

And where do you plan to put it. I suspect that pretty much every financial institution has some form of outsourced employment.

Credit Unions may be an option!

Personally I'd rather the MPs did much more lobbying of other companies with much larger offshore employment. 50 is quite small compared to what some companies have done.

@Morsey
And where do you plan to put it. I suspect that pretty much every financial institution has some form of outsourced employment.
Credit Unions may be an option!
Personally I'd rather the MPs did much more lobbying of other companies with much larger offshore employment. 50 is quite small compared to what some companies have done.LordAshOfTheBrake

I think you'll find that Nationwide have offshored more than 50 jobs. They have 50 Vacancies in Swindon I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers offshore runs into hundreds. I wonder if Mr Buckland has any figures

@lord
I think you'll find that Nationwide have offshored more than 50 jobs. They have 50 Vacancies in Swindon I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers offshore runs into hundreds. I wonder if Mr Buckland has any figuresFox in Exile

The article says it's temps and contractors being offshored this time around. These people are expensive and not a good investment, since they'll only leave and take their experience with them.

That's not to say permanent jobs haven't already been offshored, probably in software development. The Indians are willing to learn obsolete stuff which young people in the UK won't touch, fearing it's a dead-end job. All banks have some ancient systems using COBOL and the like, and finding anyone to work on them is a challenge. Nationwide is likely no different.

The article says it's temps and contractors being offshored this time around. These people are expensive and not a good investment, since they'll only leave and take their experience with them.
That's not to say permanent jobs haven't already been offshored, probably in software development. The Indians are willing to learn obsolete stuff which young people in the UK won't touch, fearing it's a dead-end job. All banks have some ancient systems using COBOL and the like, and finding anyone to work on them is a challenge. Nationwide is likely no different.Blackmalkin

My money came out last week when this news first came to light. Action speaks louder than words and I made it very clear in a letter to Nationwide Board why I had done it. I look forward to receiving their reply..........

My money came out last week when this news first came to light. Action speaks louder than words and I made it very clear in a letter to Nationwide Board why I had done it. I look forward to receiving their reply..........WoodsideLady

Almost all the jobs going are currently filled by temps/contractors. It's not like its permanent staff. These are TEMPORARY positions. To put it in another light: if you were a shareholder in Tesco, would you sell your stock because they got rid of there temporary Christmas workers in January. I think not.

Almost all the jobs going are currently filled by temps/contractors. It's not like its permanent staff. These are TEMPORARY positions. To put it in another light: if you were a shareholder in Tesco, would you sell your stock because they got rid of there temporary Christmas workers in January. I think not.lowergrounda

I'm not disputing that fact, I was making the point that probably all banks/building societies have a degree of off shoring; so transferring your money on the basis of this 50, means your going to transfer it where?

I guess a "proper" journalist would have researched the bigger Nationwide picture on off shoring rather than just report the immediate 50 posts being off shored.

@Lowerground

The jobs being discussed here are not the seasonal ones. The seasonal jobs are mentioned as an way to say "hey its not all bad, we have vacancies too".

@Fox
I'm not disputing that fact, I was making the point that probably all banks/building societies have a degree of off shoring; so transferring your money on the basis of this 50, means your going to transfer it where?
I guess a "proper" journalist would have researched the bigger Nationwide picture on off shoring rather than just report the immediate 50 posts being off shored.
@Lowerground
The jobs being discussed here are not the seasonal ones. The seasonal jobs are mentioned as an way to say "hey its not all bad, we have vacancies too".LordAshOfTheBrake

Oh get real. Find a UK registered major company that hasn't sent low paid jobs overseas.

Take your money out and shop around to find a bank with 100% UK jobs, good luck with that. You'll end up with it stuffed inside your made in China mattress.

Oh get real. Find a UK registered major company that hasn't sent low paid jobs overseas.
Take your money out and shop around to find a bank with 100% UK jobs, good luck with that. You'll end up with it stuffed inside your made in China mattress.dc the 2nd

Jeez! I'm not sure why people think taking their money out of the worlds largest building society is something to brag about? Pretty stupid really! I'm sure they won't crumble over it! It's not the first and won't be the last time someone say's this! get a grip! Any business owner in their right mind would do all they can in this environment to streamline their business and make sure it is profitable to secure its future for its members! By taking your money out you are just causing yourself hassle! Well one Nationwide for continuing to support the local community through all of your various schemes and charity work! As well as continuing to employ thousands of people in Swindon alone!

Jeez! I'm not sure why people think taking their money out of the worlds largest building society is something to brag about? Pretty stupid really! I'm sure they won't crumble over it! It's not the first and won't be the last time someone say's this! get a grip! Any business owner in their right mind would do all they can in this environment to streamline their business and make sure it is profitable to secure its future for its members! By taking your money out you are just causing yourself hassle! Well one Nationwide for continuing to support the local community through all of your various schemes and charity work! As well as continuing to employ thousands of people in Swindon alone!Really worried about your lack of intelligence

(Regardless of whether you agree with off-shoring or not, if more people were prepared to move their custom according to the issues and decisions made by a company they buy a product from, we'd ALL receive a better service. No, it won;t crush a huge company, but it sends an unequivocal message. Greed got us into this global financial mess. Maybe there are other parameters which define the value of a bank or building society than its pursuit of partner or shareholder profit?)

Somebody! From Nationwide! Likes! Using apostrophes!
(Regardless of whether you agree with off-shoring or not, if more people were prepared to move their custom according to the issues and decisions made by a company they buy a product from, we'd ALL receive a better service. No, it won;t crush a huge company, but it sends an unequivocal message. Greed got us into this global financial mess. Maybe there are other parameters which define the value of a bank or building society than its pursuit of partner or shareholder profit?)CynicRealist

The loss of 500 temp jobs is great loss to Swindon (mainly young people) who have used the "seasonal work" (often lasts longer) to support them through further education, & as a first step into the world of work. This has lead to some people joining other teams in Nationwide or they move on into roles where the ad says previous experience required. The money earned by these temps, goes straight back into the local economy, as they are not going to travel far for £6 an hour. I see Nationwide has pulled out of supporting local Charities such the Half Marathon. A Mutual is to support the local or as in the name Nationwide communities either by savings loans or jobs. Become a bank if you want to outsource or off shore.

The loss of 500 temp jobs is great loss to Swindon (mainly young people) who have used the "seasonal work" (often lasts longer) to support them through further education, & as a first step into the world of work. This has lead to some people joining other teams in Nationwide or they move on into roles where the ad says previous experience required. The money earned by these temps, goes straight back into the local economy, as they are not going to travel far for £6 an hour. I see Nationwide has pulled out of supporting local Charities such the Half Marathon. A Mutual is to support the local or as in the name Nationwide communities either by savings loans or jobs. Become a bank if you want to outsource or off shore.M4 Bypass